He would not be the most obvious choice as the man to organise the catering at your daughter's wedding. But then Senior General Than Shwe, Burma's military dictator, is not a man driven by convention. They say you can judge the man by the company he keeps. In this case the wedding planner for one of the world's top 10 dictators was Lo Hsing Han, one of south east Asia's infamous opium lords, 'reinvented' as a Rangoon businessman.

Welcome to the world of General Than Shwe - nicknamed, in muted whispers, the 'Bulldog'. Alliances in the tight circle surrounding him are oiled by money, influence and business opportunities, including arms and heroin dealing, and defined by paranoia, self-enrichment and astrology.

Than Shwe, 74, in power since 1992, is famed in Burma for his megalomania. The junta's bunker capital, Naypyidaw - 'The King's Place' - was built on the advice of his astrologer. A common rumour - exiles and dissidents paint the picture of a mad despot - is that the superstitious Than Shwe believes he is a Buddha. He commissioned a Buddha statue, whose face is uncannily like his own, which stands in Rangoon's most sacred pagoda, Shwedagon, where opposition activists go to venerate Aung San Suu Kyi.

But it was last year's extravagant wedding of Than Shwe's daughter that offered his subjects a rare glimpse inside this secretive world. A video was leaked onto the internet, showing a well-fed Thandar Shwe, perspiring under the weight of diamond-encrusted necklaces and hairbands and swathed in yards of silk as plump junta members sat on gold-trimmed chairs in front of a five-tiered wedding cake and champagne. For the Burmese, who struggle to find basic foodstuffs, the lavishness of the scene seemed surreal.

Lo Hsing Han, chair of Burma's Asia World conglomerate which owns a share in Rangoon's famous hotel Traders, organised the catering, while another crony, Tay Za, head of the Htoo Trading Company, footed much of the bill. While Lo Hsing Han's relationship with the junta has focused on a joint interest in the heroin trade, Tay Za's has more personal links. The tycoon is reputed to have dated one of Than Shwe's daughters, Khin Pyone - although Htoo Trading denies the relationship. When Than Shwe and his family go on holiday, it has often been to the beach at Ngwe Hsaung where Tay Za owns a resort. He has travelled there on occasion to avoid visiting foreign delegations or UN emissaries.

According to Irrawaddy - the opposition magazine - Than Shwe last year asked the businessman to procure five armoured Toyota Land Cruisers.

The quid pro quo for Tay Za's close relationship with General Than Shwe has been access to arms deals. Tay Za serves as the representative in Burma for Russia's aircraft maker Mapo and helicopter firm Rostvertol. Opposition groups say that in the 2002 Tay Za was instrumental in securing a deal that saw Russia sell 10 MiG-29 jet fighters for US$130m to the junta.

The life enjoyed by Than Shwe is a far cry from his humble beginnings. Born in 1933, and failing to complete his high school education, Than Shwe was a clerk before joining the army in 1953 where he began working as a psychological warfare officer. By the age of 50 he had risen through the ranks to take command of a relatively tranquil post in the Irrawaddy delta, close to Rangoon. He spent his time reading Time magazine, playing golf or dressing up in traditional Burmese outfits. He was, as he remains, sullen and unresponsive.

By the time dictator Bo Ne Win was shunted aside after the coup that followed the brutally suppressed democracy uprisings of 1988, Than Shwe was one of three in line to replace him. Profiting from the rivalry between the other two, he came out ahead. According to some, his most dreaded political weapon was his ability to bore everyone else into submission.

After orchestrating the move to Naypyidaw, in 2005, Than Shwe became even more isolated from the 50 million people of Burma whose economy he is largely responsible for grinding into the dirt. When he is seen in public it is more often than not to participate in some arcane ceremony to bolster the military's grip on power.